MSU Homecoming 2023 activities are already underway, with the Homecoming Parade taking place on September 22. This year’s Grand Marshal is Molly Brennan (above) who, among many other things, was the engineering group manager for the Truck and Bus Division of General Motors Corporation, winner of the first World Solar Challenge, captain of MSU’s first Big Ten outdoor Track & Field championship team, and MSU recipient of a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
Brennan was the first of three female MSU students in a row to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, winning for 1982; Claudena Skran won for 1983, and Judith Stoddart won for 1984. A video was created in 1984 to chronicle the accomplishments of these remarkable scholars. The footage, preserved from a 3/4″ U-matic videocassette, features Donald Lammers (former Head of MSU’s Honors College) introducing the three Rhodes Scholarship recipients.
The three meet at a press conference shortly after Judith Stoddart received her award to discuss their experiences, and how MSU helped prepare them for Rhodes competition. The video concludes with scenes from MSU’s campus, circa 1984.
Since then, Brennan has also been a member of the Alumni Board at MSU’s Alumni Office, she was a keynote speaker at MSU’s 1990 fall commencement, and she is an MSU 2005 Alumni Service Award recipient. Skran, who graduated from MSU with a BA in International Relations, is the Edwin & Ruth West Professor of Economics and Social Science and Professor of Government at Lawrence University. Stoddart serves as Vice Provost for University Arts and Collections at Michigan State University.
Footage from the video can be seen here.
